


Will You Be My Family?

by BlueQuills



Series: Hermitcraft and Dream SMP Oneshots - By Request [7]
Category: DreamSMP, Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Crossover, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27949874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueQuills/pseuds/BlueQuills
Summary: Tommy is exiled from his current family, and runs to find a new one, betrayed, infuriated and wounded.The Hermits are willing to take in a lost, broken child.They meet.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: Hermitcraft and Dream SMP Oneshots - By Request [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1993072
Comments: 47
Kudos: 538





	Will You Be My Family?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BeesAnonymous](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeesAnonymous/gifts).



> From:  
> NoNamesWhereAvailable  
> Request:  
> (((so since basically everyone is turning their back on him atm bc he griefed georges house (like no one EVER does that to other people /s) and tubbo(‘s character) said he regrets making tommy his vp he decides “you know what? [redacted] THIS” and runs off on his own and gets a better family  
> and maybe at some point new l’manburg and the dream smp need aid so they turn to hermitcraft for help but SURPRISE they’ve heard about that [redacted] from tommy)))
> 
> Yes, I censored all the swear words. Deal with it. I don’t swear, even in real life. I don’t care when others swear, I just personally choose not to, so uh yeah.
> 
> Also, this is actually really similar to my last Oneshot, “Never Again”, to the point where I considered merging the requests into one, but they have some pretty distinct differences, which made for a totally different feel, so I didn’t.
> 
> By the way, Dream is sorta a horrible person in this, just a heads up. I swear, I do like him, it's just so easy to write him as a villain.
> 
> Enjoy, lol.

Tommy didn’t care about George.

He didn’t care that George was mad and screaming and swearing at him. He just cursed right back.

He didn’t care about Dream.

Didn’t care that Dream was threatening to build a wall, and that the masked man had just sworn in what had felt like the first time in forever. Tommy just laughed.

He didn’t care what Techno thought either, thought admittedly, the Piglin hybrid had been avoiding him lately, after their lovely little chat before Techno had summoned in two Withers.

But he did care about Tubbo.

And it was Tubbo who broke his heart.

His sky blue eyes held nothing but sadness as he stared at Tommy, his words echoing hauntedly in Tommy’s mind.

“Did you do that?”

The disappointment in his voice jabbed into Tommy’s heart deeper than any sword or arrow could, hurt him more than any curse or raised voice.

“Do what?” He had tried to stall, and Tubbo had stayed silent, waiting.

He winced, trying to steady his voice as Dream and George watched coldly from the side.

“I – I did do it.” The words were bitter in his mouth.

Tubbo curled his lip, eyes shimmering with spite. “Then I have no more to say to you.”

He stared straight at Tommy, eyes glinting harshly. “Out. Get out.”

Tommy blinked, shocked. “Out?”

Tubbo scowled. “You are exiled, Tommy. You can’t just go around griefing people’s homes. This isn’t a game. Hard work was destroyed, needlessly, by you.”

Tommy drew in a breath, hating the satisfaction that shone in George’s eyes. “Tubbo, I’m your Vice President! You can’t just exile me!”

Tubbo turned away. “I just did. If you were the Vice President, you would have acted more like one.”

He turned to Dream, the masked man tilting his head.

“You got what you wanted.” Tubbo said, his voice like ice. “Make sure he leaves by sundown tomorrow.”

Dream nodded, his mouth curved in a smile. “My pleasure.” He turned to Tommy, and Tommy hissed at him, fingers gripping the hilt of his sheathed blade tightly.

Dream smirked. “You’ll be in more trouble is you resist.”

“I have nothing left to lose.” Tommy snarled, bringing his sword around to Dream’s chest in one, smooth motion, fury lending him strength.

Dream dodged, but he was taken by surprise, and Tommy’s blade bit into his side, the masked man refusing to make any sound of pain, but clamping his hand over the wound, crimson blood streaming between his fingers.

“Dream!” George yelled, whirling on Tommy, but Dream was faster, bringing his axe around and slashing into Tommy’s arm.

Pain exploded from the wound, and he turned and ran, adrenaline pumping through his veins, the wind in his hair. He could hear George cursing behind him, and then Dream cussed as well, but Tubbo was silent.

Tears dripped from his cheeks – he hadn’t even realized he was crying – but there they were, burning hot on his face against the frigid morning air.

Where was he to go? This was his home, the only home he had known. He had founded it, alongside Wilbur, fought for its independence with his own blood, only to be exiled. 

Twice. 

Neither times with Tubbo by his side.

His mind flicked back to what a particular Piglin hybrid had once said.

_Do you know what they did to him? They exiled him._

Of course it would be Techno who somehow predicted his future – he almost considered running to him, but although wounded and exiled, he still had his pride. He would die for what he believed in, not bowing down to a ruthless murderer.

_He died in disgrace, despised by his people. That’s what happens to heroes, Tommy._

He swallowed thickly, teats blurring his gaze as he stumbled towards the forest, to his safe spot, the wound pulsing with agony.

_Do you want to be a hero, Tommy?_

The energy was starting to fade from his veins, leaving behind a cold emptiness. 

_Then_ die _like one._

He was going to die along, far apart from everything he had known and made.

Alone, far apart from Tubbo.

He pushed the memory back, stumbling through the forest, his feet catching on tree roots, thin branches clawing at his face, his hand clutching the gash on his forearm. It was numb, blood flowing down his arm, in his palm, dripping from his fingers.

At last he emerged in a little forest clearing, immediately crashing into someone.

He cursed, staggering back, and a hand caught him gently, pulling him up. He jerked his arm back, lifting his head to stare at whoever it was that had grabbed him.  
It was a man wearing a helmet, concealing his head, but his eyes shone behind a purple visor. He wore honey-yellow armour, painted with chocolate brown stripes, and fingerless-gloves on his hands. He gave Tommy a slight smile, somehow not noticing that he was bleeding.

“Hey there. Are you alright?”

Tommy stared at him. He had no idea who they were.

“Who are you?” He questioned, biting back a swear word. It wouldn’t do him any good to make more enemies, not in his current situation. He was already starting to feel a little dizzy. 

Another voice sounded behind the helmed man, a feminine one. “X! He’s bleeding, of course he isn’t alright!”

Tommy turned towards them, disoriented, the world spinning.

He could feel hands gentle propping him up, violet eyes staring with concern, and then the world faded around him.

* * *

Tommy opened his eyes, and found himself inside a tent, the colour of the fabric casting a warm orange sheen to everything. He blinked, trying to remember what had happened.

Oh, right.

Exile.

He drew in a trembling breath, and glanced downwards, noticing that his arm had been bandaged, and judging from the warm feeling in his chest, he had been given a healing potion.

He blinked, lifting his head as someone entered.

It was a girl. She wore a magenta jacket and blue shorts, her rich brown hair tumbling just past her shoulders, a wreath of purple and blue flowers in her hair.

She beamed at him, handing him a glass of water. “Here, you must be exhausted.”

He took it hesitantly, but didn’t drink it. “Who are you?” He mumbled.

“I’m Stressmonster, but you can just call me Stress. What’s your name?”

He tilted his head. “Tommy. I’ve never heard of you.”

She laughed gently. “I’m from Hermitville, just over the horizon. We’ve never met before.”

“Oh.” He remembered Techno telling him once that there were more cities and places beyond the horizon, such as Techno’s ridiculous potato farm, but he had never realized that  
people could simply walk from one to the other, despite Techno doing just that.

“Well what are you doing here?”

She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Our admin, Xisuma, the one with the helmet, is having a conference with Dream to discuss alliances and stuff. We’re here to accompany him.”

“Oh.” He said again. “Well good luck with that.”

She nodded. “Yeah, its not happening because apparently Dream is feeling unwell. Not sure why.”

 _Because I stabbed him with a sword._ Tommy recalled, slightly amused.

Stress nodded. “Anyway, we’re just going back to Hermitville now.”

“Take me with you.” He said suddenly, leaning forwards. “Please.”

She blinked, startled. “Don’t you live here?”

He laughed bitterly. “I used to. But they drove me out. Did anyone ask about me?”

“No.” She admitted. “We didn’t tell them about you either.”

“Good.” He let himself fall back again. “I don’t have a family here – not anymore. Let me come with you.”

 _So that I don’t die alone._ He added silently.

She hesitated. “I need to talk with the rest of the group.” She said, starting to leave. “I’ll bring them here and we can discuss.”

Tommy nodded and he lapsed into a comfortable silence as she left. It felt odd doing nothing, left without responsibilities. He had no one to care for but himself.

It was relieving, in a way.

A few heartbeats later, he could hear footsteps, and he sat up, alert, as the tent flap was lifted. 

Stress entered first, holding open the entrance for the helmed man, Xisuma, who was followed by a short man with a red sweater, a tall man with a neat moustache, and a man with wide eyes, giving him a permanently startled look.

Xisuma blinked at Tommy, his eyes shining with kindness. “How are you feeling?”

Tommy swallowed. “Alright, I guess. Thanks for fixing my arm.”

Xisuma smiled. “That was all Stress’ doing, she’s the healer around here.”

Stress beamed with pride, and inclined her head. “I’ve seen worse.” She said politely, then turned to the rest of the group. “So, Tommy wants to come with us.”

The man in the red sweater studied him curiously. “I mean, why not?” He pointed out.

The taller man beside him nudged him gently. “It’s not that simple, Grian.”

Grian shrugged. “Well it should be.”

Xisuma sighed, then turned to Tommy. “Since you are a citizen of the Dream SMP, I need Dream’s permission to take you in.”

Tommy laughed hollowly. “No you don’t. I’m no longer a citizen of their lands. They exiled me.”

The wide eyed man widened his eyes even more, if that was even possible, and glanced at Xisuma. 

“Shashwammy, if he was exiled-”

Xisuma gave him a hard look, and he fell silent, the admin’s gaze flicking up to Tommy’s face. “Would you like to tell us why?” His tone was soft, the way he phrased his question giving Tommy a path out.

Tommy didn’t take it. “They exiled me because I was just pulling a prank. They’re all too serious, invested in whatever war they have going on. When I’m useful to them, they call me a hero, and expect me to do it all again. When I just want to have fun, they get mad.”

Xisuma drew in a breath slowly. “You can stay.” He said quietly.

Stress nodded. “Yes. You are welcome to pull pranks with us.” There was a hidden layer of amusement behind her words, and he could tell there was some sort of history between all of these hermits and pranking.

She smiled, and Tommy smiled back.

“Thank you.”

* * *

Tommy was happy. 

He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so fulfilled, and free. Even the brief time he and Wilbur had achieved independence and things were finally looking well, he had been scared and cautious, simply waiting for something to go wrong.

But now, he wasn’t afraid. 

He smiled, writing in a little leather-bound notebook in his starter base, a humble home on the side of a mountain. It was modeled after his house from the Dream SMP, and it brought a wave of bittersweet nostalgia to him as he sat in it, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of that little bit, his heart refusing to forget Tubbo.

He wrote in the book, recording his memories, his feelings. He wanted to forget, to stop thinking about the past, and the only way he could do that without the lingering pull of guilt was to make sure it was all recorded somewhere, that one day, he could reclaim those memories even if he pushed them all into the depths of his mind for days, months, centuries.

There was hope, and for the first time in forever, he saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

He finished one entry, and walked out to take a break from the past, taking a deep breath of sharp, fresh air to clear his muddled mind.

He had told the hermits all about the Dream SMP, and they had been shocked to discover that children had been hurt, caught in the crossfire in a war for power, despite Tommy protesting that he wasn’t a child.

Their answer had been “Well not anymore, not after that you aren’t.”

Those words had bitten deep into him, awakening his longing for all his lost innocence, lost time. 

He stared at the mountains far off along the horizon, rubbing his arms together in the slight cold. And far off in the distance, he saw four figures approaching.

He squinted, and his blood turned to ice. He recognized them. 

A masked man, Dream. 

George and Techno, the latter with his diamond sword strapped to his side.

And at the very back, a shorter figure.

Tubbo.

He turned and ran, pulling out his communicator as he did, calling Xisuma frantically. 

“Xisuma! They’re here!”

He could hear the voice of the admin crackle to life on the other side.

“Come to my base.” Xisuma seemed to understand instantly what he meant.

“Thank you.” He whispered breathlessly, before cutting the connection, saddling his horse, and rushing towards Xisuma’s base. In no time at all he had arrived, and he left his horse in a stable, running into the admin’s tower.

Xisuma nodded at him. “Do you want me to hide you?”

Tommy shook his head. “It’s alright. I just… don’t want to face them alone.”

Xisuma smiled. “Well, luckily for you…” He waved his hand, and Tommy suddenly realized that everyone was here. Stress smiled at him, her eyes warm like melted chocolate. Grian smirked mischievously. Mumbo shot him a supportive glance, redstone dust smeared all over his moustache. All the other hermits were there too, ones he hadn’t even met before.

A while later, they heard knocking, and Xisuma raised an eyebrow.

“Ready?” He whispered.

Tommy nodded, and Xisuma opened the door.

Dream stood in the center, his head held high, his gleaming axe strapped to his back. He gave a start of surprise as he saw Tommy, his hand instantly reaching for his weapon, but Techno, who stood beside him, reached out a hand and grabbed his wrist, hissing something in the masked man’s ear. Dream lowered his arm, slowly.

George narrowed his eyes, his dark brown eyes glittering with undisguised hostility. 

Grian moved a little closer to Tommy, their shoulders brushing, and the red-sweatered hermit glared right back at George, the King looking faintly surprised that someone was willing to stand up to him.

Tubbo stared at Tommy, an unreadable expression in his broken blue eyes, and Tommy was suddenly even more glad that the hermits where there for him, because he didn’t think he could utter a single word at the hopeless glance in Tubbo’s gaze.

Tubbo was just another child, torn between the cruel claws of power, used by Dream and Techno and Wilbur and George and Sapnap and JSchlatt and all those who craved control.

He was just as much as a victim as Tommy was, yet Tommy couldn’t find it in himself to forgive the one person he had once trusted with his life. 

He turned away, unspeakable guilt lurching inside him.

Dream cleared his throat. “I am here to discuss the terms of our alliance.”

Xisuma narrowed his eyes behind his visor, purple sparks dancing around his fingers – a sign that he was agitated, but he said nothing.

Techno inclined his chin. “It also appears that you are harbouring a traitor.” His voice was carefully monotone, without any sort of passion, as if it were just a required line he didn't quite believe.

Grian laughed. “Suit yourself, man. Sounds like to me that it was you who betrayed him.”

Xisuma turned to Techno, his voice calm “Who we let in is not your concern. But I’ll tell you what is your concern.”

Dream chuckled lightly. “Go right ahead.”

“Our alliance. I’m ending it.”

There was a moment of stunned silence. The two groups has been cooperative towards each other for a long, long, time, and even Dream couldn’t conceal his shock.

Xisuma nodded calmly. “I don’t condone what you stand for, what you believe in. While I can’t stop you, I can stop supporting you.”

Dream’s hand moved towards his axe again, and this time, Techno made no move to stop him. “You are going to regret that very, very much. I am not an enemy you want to make.”

Xisuma gave him a light smile. “And I am not an enemy _you_ want to make.”

Dream swung his axe, Techno drawing his sword at the same time, aiming for Xisuma, and the helmed man simply raised his hands, void energy crackling to life around them, and both weapons crumbled to dust.

Dream gaped in shock, Techno staring at Xisuma with an odd sort of acquiescence.

“I suggest you leave now.” Xisuma’s voice was cold, leaving no room for argument, his violet gaze resting warily on Dream.

Dream glared at Xisuma. “You’re a monster. You don’t belong in the overworld, _Voidwalker_.” His voice dripped with potent venom.

Xisuma turned to him, and Tommy could see the barely controlled rage in his tight expression, his eyes like chips of ice. “I’d rather you leave, now, before you make me do something I’ll come to regret.”

Techno gave him a sideways smile, the slightest flicker of approval gleaming in his voice. “Take care of him.” He said simply, inclining his head at Tommy, and Xisuma gave a tiny startled nod, surprised, but willing to comply.

Dream hissed in fury, but even he wasn’t stupid, or crazy enough to attack Techno. Instead, he waited by the Piglin Hybrid’s side, shooting venomous glares at Xisuma who stood, still as stone, refusing to be baited into further conflict.

Techno dipped his head, shooting one final remorseful look in Tommy’s direction, before his expression hardened, and he turned away, ignoring the malicious glances Dream was sending his way.

Tommy stared at Tubbo. He was too scared to let Tubbo in, too afraid to let him stay. Tubbo reminded him of everything he had tried so long to forget, everything he had desperately cast behind him.

He swallowed, shamefully lowering his head.

“Tommy?” Tubbo whispered, a lifetime of regret shimmering in his eyes, veiled by the thinnest glimmer of hope.

“I’m sorry.” Tommy croaked numbly. “I’m so sorry.”

He wasn’t brave enough to ask Xisuma. He was too afraid – afraid of the pain at seeing his friend so broken so often, afraid of the guilt in Tubbo’s shining blue eyes.

He saw himself as a coward, too broken by his past to see beyond his own pain, forced by his memories to shut another victim out of his hidden sanctuary.

“I’m sorry.” He murmured breathlessly, so softly that only Tubbo could hear, and the younger boy stared at him blankly, the faint flicker of hope on his face gone.

Dream snarled at Tubbo, and the younger boy cast one last silent glance at Tommy, before the masked man dragged him away, Techno bringing up the rear, his sweeping red cloak blocking Tommy’s line of sight. 

They left, walking out, footsteps echoing loudly as the distance between Tommy and Tubbo increased, one step at a time.  
They never looked back.

Tommy blinked, a little lightheaded as he watched the figures become smaller and smaller in the distance, heading away from him for the last time. They were so small, yet so capable of damage, of pain and hurt.

They shrunk, fading into the distance as tiny specks against the rolling plains painted gold by the setting sun, long shadows casting stripes of copper and honey yellow against the land.

Grian placed a hand on his shoulder gently, and he didn’t flinch away, instead, turned to the hermits, the sunset illuminating his frame beautifully as though he was on fire, and asked them a question.

A question that they all knew the answer to, yet held so much weight that if felt wrong not to.

A question long overdue, one he had never quite summoned up the courage to ask. Until now.

His voice trembled slightly.

“Will you be my family?”

**Author's Note:**

> That was kind of a sad, pretty open ending, but while it's bittersweet for Tommy, it's just sad from Tubbos POV.
> 
> Anyhow, hope y'all enjoyed, and see you in the next one! (BTW there will be a Christmas Special Oneshot (2020) on Christmas, by Galaxy_Shard's request, so be on the lookout for that, but more Oneshots will definitely be out before then as well.)
> 
> To request a Oneshot, please leave a comment in part one of this series (Requests currently closed as of Dec. 2020, should be open again by the New Year)
> 
> Also, due to a request in the comments, I MIGHT write a second chapter to this. Maybe.
> 
> If I do though, it'll be like early next year because I'm setting aside December to just crank out all my Oneshot requests.
> 
> Bye lol :D


End file.
